A gas turbine engine may be used to power various types of vehicles and systems. One particular type of gas turbine engine that may be used to power aircraft is a turbofan gas turbine engine. A turbofan gas turbine engine may include, for example, five major sections, namely, a fan section, a compressor section, a combustor section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. Other gas turbine engines may not include a fan section, and thereby may include four major sections, namely, a compressor section, a combustor section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section.
The fan section, if applicable, is positioned at the front, or “inlet” section of the engine, and includes a fan that induces air from the surrounding environment into the engine, and accelerates a fraction of this air toward the compressor section. The remaining fraction of air induced into the fan section is accelerated into and through a bypass plenum, and out the exhaust section. The compressor section raises the pressure of the air it receives from the fan section and/or from another source or inlet to a relatively high level. The compressed air from the compressor section then enters the combustor section, where a ring of fuel nozzles injects a steady stream of fuel. The injected fuel is ignited by a burner, which significantly increases the energy of the compressed air.
The high-energy compressed air from the combustor section then flows into and through the turbine section, causing rotationally mounted turbine blades to rotate and generate energy. Specifically, high-energy compressed air impinges on turbine vanes and turbine blades, causing the turbine to rotate. The air exiting the turbine section is exhausted from the engine via the exhaust section, and the energy remaining in this exhaust air aids the thrust generated by the air flowing through the bypass plenum.
Certain of these gas turbine engine components, such as the fan section (if applicable), the compressor section, and the turbine section, typically include a plurality of rotor blades coupled to a rotor disk that is configured to rotate. Such gas turbine engine components may experience stress from operation of the gas turbine engine, such as when portions of the component experience a significantly different range of temperatures from one another.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved gas turbine engine and/or turbine engine component with a mechanism to help alleviate stress during operation. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.